"Little thing?!"
You're the little thing, your whole family is little, everything about you is small.
Ye Luan rolled her eyes in her heart, pulled her robes tighter, and headed towards the washroom at the back.
Xie Beihan leaped down from the soft couch, swaying his body as he leisurely followed.
"What are you doing?"
"Going to wash up."
Ye Luan's footsteps halted. She sidestepped, making way. "You first then."
"Let's go together."
He suddenly reached out and grabbed her. The moment his ice-cold, unfeeling hand touched her, she instinctively shook it off and retreated defensively.
The sparse moonlight filtered through the paper windows, casting its glow upon her clear, limpid eyes, so pure and transparent.
Xie Beihan lowered his gaze, glancing at his empty palm, a flicker of derision crossing his features. Then, he wearily raised his eyes to look at her.
"Are you guarding your chastity for him?"
Ye Luan said, "Guarding my chastity for whom? What? Did I have a lover before?"
As she spoke, Xie Beihan's gaze towards her darkened slightly.
He strode forward abruptly, pinning her against the wall, restraining her limbs. A relaxed, lazy smile played in his phoenix-like eyes.
"Your former lover was me."
Ye Luan remained silent, the blade at her wrist pressed against his abdomen, her eyes as cold as ice, devoid of any warmth.
"Always drawing a knife. Should I search and confiscate all your weapons, lest you kill me one day."
"As long as the Crown Prince doesn't provoke me, I naturally won't dare to do anything to you."
Hearing this, Xie Beihan let out a scoff, his eyes cast down at her. "Ye Luan, you haven't forgotten him, have you? What, are you deceiving yourself?"
Ye Luan withdrew the knife slightly. "I don't know what the Crown Prince is talking about."
"Fine!"
Xie Beihan smiled lazily and nodded, an inscrutable expression rippling in his eyes.
Ye Luan felt both tired and in pain, her body, which she was forcing to stay upright, was beginning to falter.
She glanced at him wearily. "Are you still going to wash up?"
"You accompany me. Otherwise, we'll just stay like this. I, the Crown Prince, have plenty of time to wait."
Ye Luan: "---"
The gentle moonlight illuminated the crabapple blossoms placed on the window frame, reflecting the two figures in the washroom.
Xie Beihan watched the slender figure clumsily wiping her face. He turned and lit a qinglong lantern. The large lamp cast its light on the washstand, revealing her jade-like silhouette.
Perhaps because her injuries were too severe, her movements while washing seemed very strenuous.
"Do you need my help?"
Ye Luan said, "No, thank you."
If this fellow wasn't here, she would have loved to take a bath. Now, she could only make do with a simple wash.
Xie Beihan didn't seem to mind. He directly took off his robes and entered the bathing pool, leaning forward half his body to look at her.
"Want to join?"
Ye Luan, with her back to him, still heard the movement.
She directly dropped the washcloth and walked out, without even looking at him.
Xie Beihan's eyebrows arched. He squinted at her retreating, graceful figure. His gaze was like a long-dormant snake, revealing its greedy fangs, advancing step by step.
After leaving the washroom, Ye Luan walked directly towards the bed.
But just as she was about to get on the bed, she seemed to remember something. She turned her head, glanced at the moonlight outside, and a trace of an unfathomable light flashed in her black and white pupils.
Xie Beihan extinguished the lamp and lazily emerged, draped in his robe. The moment he looked up, he saw that graceful, peach-colored figure standing quietly before the bed curtain, lost in thought.
He stared at her intently. Her waist was slender and graceful, her complexion fair and radiant. Her waist was so soft, it seemed it would break if he applied any force. An impure fire rose within him.
Xiao Chizhan's woman was indeed alluring!
"Not sleeping, what are you thinking about?"
He walked up from behind her and reached out as if to embrace her.
Ye Luan immediately came back to her senses. The hidden weapon in her hand was pressed against his heart, her eyes chillingly cold, radiating ruthlessness.
Xie Beihan raised an eyebrow, licked his lips, and curved them into a cold, thin arc.
"The Crown Prince promised that if I stayed by your side for a month, you would let me leave. A crown prince of a nation should keep his word, shouldn't he?"
Xie Beihan chuckled. "Of course. If you want to leave, I won't stop you."
He feared she wouldn't want to leave.
"Then the Crown Prince must keep his promise and not touch me inappropriately."
Saying this, Ye Luan walked to the incense burner, used the fire hook to retrieve the medicine within, and tilted her head to look at him, her voice cold. "And don't try to drug me."
Seeing this, Xie Beihan crossed his arms and leaned against the bed, his expression unchanged, his posture languid.
"You're quite defensive against me. When that person drugged you, why didn't you notice?"
Ye Luan calmly put down the fire hook and closed the lid of the burner.
"I am grateful for the Crown Prince's life-saving grace. However, if the Crown Prince resorts to such despicable methods again, it truly chills the heart."
Xie Beihan's lips curved coldly. "Don't you not remember the past? Yet you remember your medical skills clearly."
Ye Luan said, "I remember everything clearly."
"Who is Xiao Chizhan?"
"I don't know him."
"Heh." Xie Beihan let out a cold laugh, no longer pursuing the matter. He walked to the soft couch and lay down.
Ye Luan turned back to look at the person reclining on the soft couch, licked her pale lips, and directly lowered the bed curtain, getting onto the bed. She sat within the curtain, not speaking further.
Silence permeated the air.
She dared not sleep, so she could only curl up in the corner. The wounds on her body would periodically send waves of pain, causing her to involuntarily frown and clutch the quilt.
Pain, so much pain.
If she had known she would survive, she wouldn't have jumped into the ice pit. What a disaster, it hurt so much.
"Can't sleep?"
Annoying!
Ye Luan ignored him and closed her eyes slightly.
No matter what his intentions were, they could do as they pleased. If she couldn't fight them, so be it. She had already died once, so it didn't matter.
She would first recuperate her injuries here, otherwise, she would eventually die from the pain.
Ye Luan's sleep was extremely restless. She was afraid Xie Beihan might do something crazy, so she remained half-asleep, half-awake, on guard.
The next day, she woke up even earlier.
She lifted the bed curtain and saw that the man on the soft couch was no longer there. Several maids were waiting outside. Upon seeing her awake, they immediately filed in.
"I'll do it myself."
She was not accustomed to being served.
After washing up and eating breakfast, as Ye Luan went out, she noticed that hidden guards had suddenly appeared around her. She pouted and walked directly outside.
"Miss, where are you going?"
"Just taking a walk."
This was the garrison city within Yuehan Pass. Having just experienced the devastation of war, the streets were not bustling.
Ye Luan went to the medical hall, bought some medicinal herbs, and also found a doctor to change her dressings before coming out.
"A Yue, why are there so many refugees in the garrison city?"
Several maids followed behind her, and there were also hidden guards accompanying them.
The maid named A Yue quickly replied to her question.
"After the Great Liang army withdrew from Yuehan Pass, they marched west towards Chaoge, breaking through three cities in succession. Many refugees in that area are now heading towards Jiuchuan."
Upon hearing this, Ye Luan's expression paused for a moment, and she said no more.